Betta White Growth

[Pipedrummer]

Hi,

First time here and was hoping for some help with my Betta. He unfortunately wasn't that well taken care of for a while and developed a large white streak on his underside that I wasn't initially sure what to do with. I increased frequently of water changes (once every 5-7 days with his 2.5g tank). I did an aquarium salt treatment for 5 days (1tsp a day with 50% water change every day). I now just finished two treatments of Jungle fungus clear, and it hasn't gotten better, maybe has gotten worse. He's behaving mostly normal, eating without issue. Just not sure what this is/what to do to help him.

Can anyone help? Thank you!

Dan

 

[Colin_T]

Hi Dan and welcome to the forum

Did you use a teaspoon or tablespoon for the salt?
To treat fish with salt you use 1 to 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres of tank water. Keep the salt in there for 2 weeks.

Can you post some more pictures?

 

[Pipedrummer]

Hi Colin,

Thanks for the reply. I was following the directions on the API Salt that I have. Said 1/2 teaspoon per gallon. My tank is 2.5g, a little less due to gravel and ornaments. That's where I got the 1 teaspoon from.

I can't find it at the moment but I had found a regimen where you add the teaspoon on day 1, then do 50% change on day 2, add another teaspoon, 50%, plus teaspoon day 3 etc. For 5 days. Gradually increasing salinity, before a second 5 days of just water changes to remove the salt gradually.

I guess I could try adding it and waiting two weeks like you suggested. Do we think it's fungus?

 

[Pipedrummer]

Hi Colin,

Thanks for the reply. I was following the directions on the API Salt that I have. Said 1/2 teaspoon per gallon. My tank is 2.5g, a little less due to gravel and ornaments. That's where I got the 1 teaspoon from.

I can't find it at the moment but I had found a regimen where you add the teaspoon on day 1, then do 50% change on day 2, add another teaspoon, 50%, plus teaspoon day 3 etc. For 5 days. Gradually increasing salinity, before a second 5 days of just water changes to remove the salt gradually.

I guess I could try adding it and waiting two weeks like you suggested. Do we think it's fungus?

 

[Colin_T]

It's a bit hard to tell what it is. It might be fungus or an external protozoan infection, or colouration. From the last picture you posted, I would say it is most likely a fungal infection and salt should do the job. Disregard the directions on the salt packet, they are not worth following when it comes to treating fish. See directions below for treating fish with salt.

If there's no improvement after a week with salt, post some more pictures and we can look into it further.

---------------------
Before you add salt, do the following:
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate today and then add the salt. Then do a 75% water change and gravel clean every day for two weeks. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in. They will also help keep the ammonia levels down while the filter recovers.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration when using salt or medications because they reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.

---------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), sea salt or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres (5 gallons) of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

If you only have livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), goldfish or rainbowfish in the tank you can double that dose rate, so you would add 2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres and if there is no improvement after 48 hours, then increase it so there is a total of 4 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate (4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will affect some plants and some snails. The lower dose rate (1-2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will not affect fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

When you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

 

[Pipedrummer]

It's a bit hard to tell what it is. It might be fungus or an external protozoan infection, or colouration. From the last picture you posted, I would say it is most likely a fungal infection and salt should do the job. Disregard the directions on the salt packet, they are not worth following when it comes to treating fish. See directions below for treating fish with salt.

If there's no improvement after a week with salt, post some more pictures and we can look into it further.

---------------------
Before you add salt, do the following:
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate today and then add the salt. Then do a 75% water change and gravel clean every day for two weeks. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in. They will also help keep the ammonia levels down while the filter recovers.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration when using salt or medications because they reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.

---------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), sea salt or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres (5 gallons) of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

If you only have livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), goldfish or rainbowfish in the tank you can double that dose rate, so you would add 2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres and if there is no improvement after 48 hours, then increase it so there is a total of 4 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate (4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will affect some plants and some snails. The lower dose rate (1-2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will not affect fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

When you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

Thanks for this. I'll give it a shot. I hadn't thought of protozoan. I guess if it was fungal, then the Jungle fungus cure should have probably made an improvement?

The pics are a little difficult to see but it's definitely more of a white growth than just discoloration. Though it doesn't look "cottony" the way I've seen some pictures of fungus

 

[Sgooosh]

Thanks for this. I'll give it a shot. I hadn't thought of protozoan. I guess if it was fungal, then the Jungle fungus cure should have probably made an improvement?

The pics are a little difficult to see but it's definitely more of a white growth than just discoloration. Though it doesn't look "cottony" the way I've seen some pictures of fungus

after that, consider upgrading to a 5 gallon. he will be much happier in there, plus, bigger tank=easier to take care of

 

[Colin_T]

Thanks for this. I'll give it a shot. I hadn't thought of protozoan. I guess if it was fungal, then the Jungle fungus cure should have probably made an improvement?

Not necessarily. The ingredients in the Jungle product are more for bacteria and don't do much for fungus. It might help but there are several types of fungus and this is an uncommon type, which isn't always easy to treat. But try the higher dose rate of salt and see what happens.

 

[Pipedrummer]

after that, consider upgrading to a 5 gallon. he will be much happier in there, plus, bigger tank=easier to take care of

Absolutely. We will be moving in the near future and a bigger tank will definitely come with more space

 

[Huscarl86]

I think you need to get him into a bigger tank as soon as you can. Perhaps it's illness from stress from too confined a space. Ammonia will build up quick in a small tank and temperature could fluctuate.